The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast

Mark Brandon
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  • Sports
  • Updated Semiweekly

The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast brings together the worlds of business and sport. Every Monday, Hugh Cahill, Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan break down the biggest stories, talking points and moments from the week in sport. Every Friday, they sit down with sporting legends, elite athletes, coaches, CEOs, founders and senior business leaders to uncover the mindset, leadership, resilience and defining moments behind success. Expect conversations covering rugby, football, GAA, boxing, horse racing, golf, Formula 1, the NFL, entrepreneurship, culture, high performance and the business of sport

  1. 1d ago

    Aisling O’Reilly: Risk, Resilience & The Road to the Top of Irish Sports Broadcasting

    Aisling O’Reilly is now one of the most recognisable faces and voices in Irish sports media. Getting there was anything but straightforward. In this episode of The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, Aisling joins Mark Brandon for a brilliant and incredibly open conversation about the years of graft, rejection, nerves, big decisions and calculated risks behind the career people see today. From growing up obsessed with sport and playing football and camogie, to spending time in New York and eventually finding a way into sports media, Aisling takes us through a journey that very nearly went in a completely different direction. She talks about becoming Off The Ball’s first full-time female reporter, being terrified of press conferences in the early days, learning to handle the pressure of live broadcasting and covering some of the biggest sporting occasions in the world. Aisling also opens up about one of the biggest decisions of her career: leaving Newstalk and the security of a full-time role to back herself as a freelancer. We get into what life behind the camera is really like, preparing for major broadcasts, the nerves that never completely disappear, dealing with criticism and the lessons she has learned from working alongside some of the best people in Irish sports media. There’s a fascinating conversation about the changing landscape for women in sports broadcasting, the people who helped Aisling when she was trying to establish herself and the responsibility that comes with becoming someone the next generation can now look up to. She also speaks brilliantly about Michael Lyster, what makes a great interviewer, why making the person beside you feel comfortable matters so much and how her own approach to broadcasting has developed over the years. And, of course, we talk ambition. After fighting for years to get her opportunity, what does success look like now? What does she still want to achieve? And how different is the person sitting in front of the camera today from the young woman who once wasn’t sure there was even a route into the industry? A really enjoyable, funny and honest conversation with one of the leading figures in Irish sports broadcasting. 🎧 Follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify 📱 Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 🌐 Website https://thesportingclub.ie ▶️ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland 📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland 💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow the podcast, leave us a rating or review and share it with someone who loves their sport. Every follow, rating, review and share genuinely helps us reach more people and grow The Sporting Club Ireland community. The Sporting Club Ireland Where sport opens doors to business.

  2. 4d ago

    O’Rourke Sisters Make History, Irish Rugby’s Tough Start & FAI Turmoil | Weekend Review

    Two sisters. Two European champions. One ridiculous weekend of sport. Aoife and Lisa O’Rourke created one of the great Irish sporting stories of the year by both winning European boxing gold, and that’s where this week’s Weekend Review has to start. From there, Mark and Michael get stuck into a massive few days across Irish and international sport. For the first time in 17 years, all four Irish provinces lost on the opening weekend of the URC. Is it just an early-season blip, or is there anything Irish rugby should genuinely be worried about? Australia and South Africa then produced one of the maddest Test matches you’re likely to see, with Australia somehow surviving despite finishing with just 11 players. There was much better news for Ireland’s women as they beat Japan, while Beibhinn Parsons made history by becoming Ireland’s all-time leading women’s try scorer at just 24 years of age. Then comes Irish football. Gavin Bazunu’s decision. The Israel fixture. The FAI. The discussions inside the Ireland camp. The disruption around the squad. And somewhere underneath all of that, an Irish team badly needing results. There’s also Conor McKenna capping off an extraordinary week with another AFL premiership, Michael on Caltra, Formula One, great Irish sporting families and plenty more. And there really is no debate over our Sports Stars of the Week. Aoife and Lisa O’Rourke. Two sisters. Two European champions. 🎧 Follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify 📱 Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 🌐 Website https://thesportingclub.ie ▶️ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland 📸 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland 💼 LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow the podcast, leave a rating or review and share it with someone who loves their sport. Every follow, rating, review and share genuinely helps us grow the show. The Sporting Club Ireland Where sport and business connect.

  3. Sep 25

    The Tables Are Turned: Michael Meehan Interviews Mark Brandon on Building The Sporting Club Ireland

    In this episode of The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, the tables are turned. Usually Mark is asking the questions. This time, Michael Meehan puts Mark in the hot seat. Mark had actually planned to interview Michael about his career, 2008, that goal in 2013 and everything else that came with it. Michael’s response was fairly simple. That story is already out there, and when he eventually takes the hot seat properly, there will be a bit more to his already incredible story. So instead, they talk about The Sporting Club Ireland. Why Mark decided to take it on. What he saw in Ian Stafford and the Sporting Club model in the UK. What the club actually is. Who it is for. Why the introductions matter more than the events. The three year plan. The ambition behind it. The mistakes. The setbacks. The lessons. And the reality of trying to build something from scratch. There is no polished success story here. It is a proper conversation about what Mark is trying to build, where he thinks it can go and some of what has gone right and wrong along the way. If you have ever wondered what The Sporting Club Ireland actually is, why it exists or where the whole thing is heading, this episode hopefully it a bit. Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Website https://thesportingclub.ie YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave a rating or review and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it. Every follow, rating, review and share helps grow the show. The Sporting Club Ireland Where sport and business connect.

  4. Sep 22

    Frank Browne: Life, Loss, Leadership and Why Sport Matters

    Frank Browne has spent decades in high performance sport, managing across ladies football, hurling and camogie, including Mayo, Westmeath and Dublin. He has now taken on a major new challenge as Head of Ladies Football at UCD, leading an ambitious three year programme. But this episode is about far more than sport. Frank speaks openly about losing his daughter Emma at just six months old, how that changed his perspective on life forever, and how it shaped the way he now leads, manages and connects with people. Mark and Frank talk about grief, resilience, ambition, leadership, empathy, pressure, winning, losing and the importance of belonging. They also get into Frank’s years in intercounty sport, managing elite players, the lessons he has learned from dressing rooms, and why he believes sport can give people something much more important than trophies. A powerful conversation about sport, but even more about life. Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Website https://thesportingclub.ie YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it. Every follow, rating, review and share helps grow the show. The Sporting Club Ireland Where sport and business connect.

  5. Sep 20

    A Wild Weekend: Arsenal Stunned, United Stumble, Ireland Let It Slip & Much More

    Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan are back with another packed Weekend Review from The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast. This week, Mark finally asks Michael the Galway question he somehow managed to avoid for the last couple of weeks, despite Michael being all over the national media discussing Padraic Joyce, the Galway job and what comes next. From there, the lads get stuck into a huge weekend of sport There is plenty on the Premier League after Arsenal were brought crashing back down to earth by Brighton, Manchester City made it five wins from five, Liverpool kept finding a way to win and Manchester United and Spurs gave their supporters a few more reasons to worry. They also get into Rangers beating Celtic again, the League of Ireland title race tightening up and whether Irish football supporters still give enough attention to the domestic game. On the rugby front, Mark and Michael look back on Ireland Women’s extraordinary defeat to the USA after surrendering a 31 to 12 lead, discuss how players deal with momentum when a game starts getting away from them, and give a well deserved mention to Jemima Adams Verling after the 20 year old made her senior Ireland debut. There is also a strong Irish boxing contingent pushing for medals at the European Elite Championships, with Lisa O’Rourke, Aoife O’Rourke, Daina Moorehouse, Jack Marley and others all in the mix. The lads also discuss one of the most brutal reminders of how quickly sport can turn, as Olympic wrestling champion Gable Steveson was knocked out in just 12 seconds, before touching on Rory McIlroy going close again at Wentworth and the latest action from the GAA club championships. Looking ahead, the new URC season gets underway with Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster all back in action, giving Mark and Michael plenty to argue about in this week’s Big Call. And of course, there is another edition of Troy Parrott Watch before Michael is forced to make the biggest decision of the show, Sports Star of the Week. Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Website https://thesportingclub.ie YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave a rating or review, and share the episode with someone who might enjoy it. Every follow, rating, review and share helps grow the show. The Sporting Club Ireland Where sport and business connect.

  6. Sep 18

    Peter O’Mahony: Life After Rugby, Shane Lowry, Business & What Comes Next

    This week on The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast, Mark Brandon had the pleasure of sitting down with Peter O’Mahony. Peter needs very little introduction. 114 caps for Ireland, a Munster legend, two British & Irish Lions tours, and one of the great characters in Irish rugby over the last 15 years. But this chat is about a lot more than rugby. Mark talks to Peter about life after retirement, how he’s finding it, and what life looks like now without the structure and intensity of professional rugby. They chat about his friendship with Shane Lowry, how that came about, and how good it is to see some of Ireland’s biggest sporting personalities supporting each other. There’s plenty on business too. Peter talks about Active Brewing, sow-se, working alongside Jessica, and what he has learned from stepping into a very different world after rugby. They also get into Peter’s upcoming autobiography, his work with Virgin Media, life on the other side of the microphone, Munster, Ireland, leadership, retirement, what comes next and, of course, gardening. A really enjoyable, relaxed and wide-ranging chat with one of the biggest figures in Irish rugby over the last 15 years. Hope you enjoy it. Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Website: https://thesportingclub.ie YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating or review, and share it with someone who might enjoy it. Every follow, rating, review and share helps us grow the show. The Sporting Club Ireland - Where sport and business connect.

  7. Sep 13

    LOWRY MAKES HISTORY | IRISH SPORT ON FIRE | WEEKEND REVIEWSPORT

    Irish sport continues to ride the crest of a wave. Shane Lowry wins the Irish Open in extraordinary fashion, 17 years after his breakthrough victory in 2009, with a tournament record 11 shot winning margin. We get into Lowry’s week, the Solheim Cup and Leona Maguire, before moving through another huge weekend of sport. The Premier League, Irish soccer and Troy Parrott Watch. Springboks v All Blacks, ROG and La Rochelle. Ryan Garcia, Conor Benn and the latest from the boxing world. Alex Dunne takes P2 in Madrid, Mark English produces another lifetime best, plus the US Open and local sport including Caltra and Creggs. We also have Sports Star of the Week and The Big Call. The Sporting Club Ireland Weekend Review with Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan. Download The Sporting Club Ireland Apphttps://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Websitehttps://thesportingclub.ie YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating or review, and share it with someone who might enjoy it. Every follow, rating, review and share helps us grow the show. The Sporting Club IrelandWhere sport and business connect.

  8. Sep 11

    Emmet Brennan: When a Loss Feels Like a Win | Croke Park, The Olympics & One Hell of a Journey

    Six days after one of the biggest nights of his life, Emmet Brennan sat down with us and held absolutely nothing back. From living just 500 yards from Croke Park to walking out and fighting there in front of a huge home crowd, Emmet takes us inside a night he will never forget. He lost the fight. But somehow, it felt like a win. We talk about the years behind that moment too. Walking away from boxing. Coming back. Taking out a loan. Putting everything on the line. Chasing an Olympic dream when there were far easier options available. He made it to the Olympics. It did not go the way he wanted, but the journey tells you everything about the man. Emmet also speaks with remarkable honesty about where he is now. At 35, he knows the body has slowed down. He knows he is not the fighter he was five years ago. There may be another couple of fights, but he is realistic about the level and about what the future looks like. There is no pretending in this conversation. We talk money, sacrifice, regret, pride, the brutal realities of professional boxing, what it takes to keep going when the dream looks finished, and how sometimes a defeat can give you more than a victory ever could. Brutally honest. Completely grounded. And one of the most likeable people you could hope to sit across from. An absolute gentleman. This was a special conversation. Download The Sporting Club Ireland App https://apps.apple.com/ie/app/the-sporting-club-ireland/id6788445806 Website https://thesportingclub.ie YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheSportingClubIreland Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesportingclub_ireland LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-sporting-club-ireland/ If you enjoyed the episode, please follow The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast on Spotify, leave us a rating and review, and share it with someone who would enjoy it too. Every follow, rating, review and share helps us grow the podcast and continue bringing you reaction, opinion and conversations with some of the biggest and most interesting names across sport and business. The Sporting Club Ireland. Where sport and business connect.

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The Sporting Club Ireland Podcast brings together the worlds of business and sport. Every Monday, Hugh Cahill, Mark Brandon and Michael Meehan break down the biggest stories, talking points and moments from the week in sport. Every Friday, they sit down with sporting legends, elite athletes, coaches, CEOs, founders and senior business leaders to uncover the mindset, leadership, resilience and defining moments behind success. Expect conversations covering rugby, football, GAA, boxing, horse racing, golf, Formula 1, the NFL, entrepreneurship, culture, high performance and the business of sport

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